Morocco - Develop landfill gas assessments, assessment of waste mitigation strategies, and MRV system for the waste sector

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Rationale

In Morocco, urban landfills accumulate more than 7.5 million tonnes of waste every year. Five million tonnes is organic with 70% of it being water, creating leachate and GHG emissions. 

Currently only 5-10% of the landfilled gas is captured right now, less than 1% is being used in gas engines, and 95 % of the methane is lost as GHG emissions in the atmosphere. This amounts to 3-5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and enough electricity to power 200,000 to 400,000 Moroccan households.
 
So far the government has limited knowledge of methane emissions in landfills and the landfill gas sector remains underdeveloped.

Morocco has however signed the Global Methane Pledge, engaged in comprehensive NDCs, and committed to an ambitious renewables target including a roadmap for biomass usage. 

This CCAC project will seek to operationalise the potential of Morocco's plans for landfill biogas capture. It responds to a request by Morocco’s Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development to provide technical support for feasibility assessments for three major landfills in Morocco, for the evaluation of methane mitigation strategies for the waste sector, and for a proposal for a monitoring, reporting, and verification framework for the waste sector.

Objectives


 

This project aims to: 

  • Increase the Moroccan Government's knowledge base for decision making on landfill gas generation and recovery for major landfills.  
  • Increase the Moroccan Government's knowledge on opportunities to reduce methane emissions in its waste sector and to liaise with the cities where the landfills are located to move landfill gas projects forward. 
  • Increase the capacity of The Moroccan Government to measure, verify and report on emissions and emission reductions from its waste sector.  

 

Activities

To achieve these objectives the project will

  • Conduct technical, financial, and institutional feasibility assessments for three major landfills in Morocco, which would include:  
    • Assessment of existing waste characterisation studies of the waste received at the landfills 
    • Projections of landfill gas generation and recovery 
    • Conceptual description of landfill gas collection system 
    • Assessment of landfill gas to energy project options and utilisation systems  
    • Assessment of regulatory framework for landfill gas to energy projects 
    • Institutional assessment of implementation arrangements including role of relevant municipal authorities 
    • Economic evaluations of viable options of landfill gas to energy projects 
    • Assessment of the potential SLCP emissions reductions 
  • Evaluation and recommendation of measures at the country-level for the mitigation of methane emissions from the waste sector, such as, diversion of organic waste for composting. 
  • A proposal for a monitoring, reporting, and verification system for waste sector. 

Project reference: Morocco - Develop landfill gas assessments, assessment of waste mitigation strategies, and MRV system for the waste sector [MA-22-002]

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